With the industry’s global supply chain delays, innovative architects and designers are turning to alternative methods and materials for home building. Mansion Global writer Alanna Schubach says the alternatives can range from turning to the use of materials easily found on-site—such as volcanic rock and adobe brick in the Southwest—to 3D printing with recycled materials. Read on for some creative solutions that builders are employing to get around the ongoing supply challenge.
Steve Pallrand, founder of sustainable design firms CarbonShack and Home Front Build in Los Angeles, makes recycling central to home construction, using existing materials left over from demolition when creating a new or updated property.
“Reusing framing reduces the amount of new lumber and reduces costs to the job, especially important in a time of fluctuating materials costs and availability,” he said. “Another aspect of this strategy is when designing an addition to an existing house, we strategize which parts of the structure do not even have to be demolished, but can be preserved and integrated into the new plan.”
Adaptability is key to avoiding extended timelines and skyrocketing costs for home construction products. And builders and designers are finding there are other advantages to using unconventional materials, as well.
“We have been using concrete, which uses a mix of local rocks and cement. Not only are local rocks and cement a unique material but they are also very cost-effective and in the current climate, luckily not prone to supply chain disruptions,” said Felipe Escudero, founder and principal of Estudio Felipe Escudero, a design firm based in Quito, Ecuador. “Additionally, we have been using local volcanic rock as a finish for many surfaces. These materials also support local labor as it needs hand fabrication of molds, helping the local economy.”
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